Kate Foo Kune

Kate Foo Kune (born 29 March 1993) is a badminton player from Mauritius.[1] She began playing badminton in Mauritius at age six. Her first major tournament participation was 2013 BWF World Championships in China, where she lost in the first round of women's singles to Sarah Walker of England.[2] Foo Kune represented her country at the 2016 Summer Olympics in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil.[3] She was the flag bearer for Mauritius during the Parade of Nations.[4]

Kate Foo Kune
Personal information
Birth name	Kate Jessica Kim Lee Foo Kune
Country	Mauritius
Born	(1993-03-29) 29 March 1993 Moka, Mauritius
Residence	Paris, France
Height	1.62 m (5 ft 4 in)
Handedness	Left
Women's singles & doubles
Highest ranking	57 (WS 21 April 2016) 69 (WD 5 April 2012) 140 (XD 7 December 2017)
Current ranking	108 (WS 18 February 2020)
Medal record Women's badminton Representing  Mauritius African Games 2015 Brazzaville Women's singles 2015 Brazzaville Mixed team 2015 Brazzaville Women's doubles African Championships 2014 Gaborone Women's singles 2014 Gaborone Women's doubles 2017 Benoni Women's singles 2018 Algiers Women's singles 2020 Cairo Women's singles 2013 Rose Hill Women's singles 2017 Benoni Mixed doubles 2019 Port Harcourt Mixed team 2011 Marrakesh Women's doubles 2011 Marrakesh Mixed team 2013 Rose Hill Mixed team 2014 Gaborone Mixed team Africa Team Championships 2016 Rose Hill Women's team 2018 Algiers Women's team 2008 Rose Hill Women's team 2012 Addis Ababa Women's team 2020 Cairo Women's team
BWF profile

As a junior player, she won the Under-15 and Under-19 African tournaments. She was awarded the Sportswoman of the year in 2015 in Mauritius. In doubles, she partnered with Yeldy Marie Louison, while in mixed doubles, she partnered with Georges Julien Paul. Her career-best ranking remains 63 as of 2016 and her best performance remains the gold at 2015 African games. In June 2019, Kate was tested positive for doping during the 2019 African Badminton Championships and in November 2019 it is announced that her result in the championship is disqualified.[5]

Personal life

Kate Foo Kune is the second child of Jacques and Cathy Foo Kune (née Ng), both leading mixed doubles badminton players who several championships, such as the 1985 Indian Ocean Games.[6] The pair were married in 1990 and had two children. Her sister, Karen Foo Kune, is also a professional badminton player and competed at the 2008 Summer Olympics.

Foo Kune pursued her bachelor's degree in Sports Management while at France.[7]

The sisters were paired and played doubles in 2010 Commonwealth Games in New Delhi.[8]

Professional life

Foo Kune started playing badminton at the age of six and turned professional by twelve. She first participated in a junior competition at age 12 in 2005. She had her international debut Thomas and Uber Cup Qualification for Africa in 2010 held at Uganda. She was named Sportswoman of the Year in 2015 in Mauritius. In doubles, she partnered with Yeldy Marie Louison, while in mixed doubles, she partnered with Georges Julien Paul.[3] During the early part of her career, she paired with her sister Karen Foo Kune. During her first outing in the African Badminton Cup of Nations, she finished second, but a few weeks later, she won the Mauritius International Series. She went on to win the Under-15 and Under-19 African tournaments.[9]

In September 2013, it was reported that she was one of the 14 players selected for the Road to Rio Program, a program that aimed to help African badminton players compete at the 2016 Summer Olympics.[10]

As of 2016, she lived in Paris, France,[11] and joined Issy-Les-Moulineaux Badminton Club. Prior to this, she trained for four months in Malaysia and Leeds, England.[9]

Foo Kune was part of the Mauritius badminton squad which won the title at the 2016 Africa Continental Team Badminton Championships[12] in February 2016, which also confirms the participation of Mauritius in 2016 Uber Cup. In June 2016, Foo Kune won the 2016 European Badminton Club Championships with her club despite losing in the final to Beatriz Corrales.[13] She was the flagbearer for Mauritius during the Parade of Nations.[14] She won her first match against Wendy Chen Hsuan-Yu of Australia, but was defeated by Porntip Buranaprasertsuk of Thailand and failed to qualify for the next round.[11]

Achievements

All African Games

Women's singles

Year	Venue	Opponent	Score	Result
2015	Gymnase Étienne Mongha, Brazzaville, Republic of the Congo	Grace Gabriel	21–13, 21–19	Gold

Women's doubles

Year	Venue	Partner	Opponent	Score	Result
2015	Gymnase Étienne Mongha, Brazzaville, Republic of the Congo	Yeldy Marie Louison	Juliette Ah-Wan Allisen Camille	20–22, 21–18, 14–21	Silver

African Championships

Women's singles

Year	Venue	Opponent	Score	Result
2020	Cairo Stadium Hall 2, Cairo, Egypt	Dorcas Ajoke Adesokan	21–19, 21–16	Gold
2019	Alfred Diete-Spiff Centre, Port Harcourt, Nigeria	Dorcas Ajoke Adesokan	12–21, 13–21	Silver
2018	Salle OMS Harcha Hacéne, Algiers, Algeria	Dorcas Ajoke Adesokan	21–16, 21–19	Gold
2017	John Barrable Hall, Benoni, South Africa	Hadia Hosny	16–21, 21–14, 21–8	Gold
2014	Lobatse Stadium, Gaborone, Botswana	Grace Gabriel	21–14, 14–21, 21–17	Gold
2013	National Badminton Centre, Rose Hill, Mauritius	Grace Gabriel	23–25, 12–21	Silver

In November 2019, Badminton World Federation released a statement regarding doping test failure of Kate Foo Kune in this championships and decided to disqualify her result.[5]

Women's doubles

Year	Venue	Partner	Opponent	Score	Result
2014	Lobatse Stadium, Gaborone, Botswana	Yeldy Marie Louison	Juliette Ah-Wan Allisen Camille	21–17, 22–20	Gold
2011	Marrakesh, Morocco	Karen Foo Kune	Annari Viljoen Michelle Edwards	21–19, 9–21, 8–21	Bronze

Mixed doubles

Year	Venue	Partner	Opponent	Score	Result
2017	John Barrable Hall, Benoni, South Africa	Georges Julien Paul	Andries Malan Jennifer Fry	19–21, 21–19, 19-21	Silver

BWF International Challenge/Series (9 titles, 11 runners-up)

Women's singles

Year	Tournament	Opponent	Score	Result
2019	South Africa International	Katharina Fink	21–16, 21–14	Winner
2018	Uganda International	Hadia Hosny	21–19, 21–10	Winner
2017	South Africa International	Vaishnavi Reddy Jakka	10–21, 10–21	Runner-up
2017	Zambia International	Ksenia Polikarpova	14–21, 21–16, 21–18	Winner
2016	Norwegian International	Yap Rui Chen	13–21, 8–21	Runner-up
2016	Uganda International	Telma Santos	10–21, 12–21	Runner-up
2015	Botswana International	Laura Sarosi	10–21, 14–21	Runner-up
2015	Zambia International	Sorayya Aghaei	15–21, 1–0 Retired	Winner
2015	Nigeria International	Grace Gabriel	21–14, 11–21, 12–21	Runner-up
2014	Zambia International	Grace Gabriel	21–16, 21–17	Winner
2014	Morocco International	Lianne Tan	11–7, 9–11, 9–11, 8–11	Runner-up
2013	Mauritius International	Grace Gabriel	21–18, 16–21, 24–22	Winner

Women's doubles

Year	Tournament	Partner	Opponent	Score	Result
2014	Zambia International	Grace Gabriel	Michelle Butler-Emmett Elme de Villiers	17–21, 21–19, 17–21	Runner-up
2014	Mauritius International	Yeldy Marie Louison	Annika Horbach Maria Mata Masinipeni	12–21, 12–21	Runner-up

Mixed doubles

Year	Tournament	Partner	Opponent	Score	Result
2018	Uganda International	Jonathan Persson	Georges Julien Paul Aurelie Marie Elisa Allet	21–11, 21–18	Winner
2017	Zambia International	Jonathan Persson	Misha Zilberman Svetlana Zilberman	Walkover	Winner
2017	Mauritius International	Jonathan Persson	Yogendran Khrishnan Prajakta Sawant	7–21, 17–21	Runner-up
2017	Brazil International	Jonathan Persson	Hugo Arthuso Fabiana Silva	11–21, 19–21	Runner-up
2014	Zambia International	Georges Julien Paul	Ali Ahmed El-Khateeb Doha Hany	21–18, 21–14	Winner
2014	Hatzor International	Florent Riancho	Gennadiy Natarov Yuliya Kazarinova	6–11, 7–11, 11–8, 10–11	Runner-up

     BWF International Challenge tournament

     BWF International Series tournament

     BWF Future Series tournament

Career overview

Singles Played Wins Losses Balance Total 329 199 129 +70 Current year (2020) 9 8 1 +7

Women's doubles Played Wins Losses Balance Total 100 56 44 +12 Current year (2020) 3 2 1 +1

Mixed doubles Played Wins Losses Balance Total 84 44 40 +4 Current year (2020) 0 0 0 0

* Statistics were last updated on 18 February 2020.[15]

References

1. "Athlete Kate Foo Kune". www.rio2016.com. Rio 2016. Archived from the original on 6 August 2016. Retrieved 7 August 2016.
2. "BADMINTON : Kate Foo Kune s'incline au 1er tour". Le Mauricien. Retrieved 7 October 2016.
3. "Players: Kate Foo Kune". bwfbadminton.com. Badminton World Federation. Retrieved 7 August 2016.
4. "Porte-drapeau de la délégation Mauricienne : Kate Foo Kune, l'histoire retiendra" [Kate Foo Kune made history, will be the flag bearer for the Mauritian delegation] (in French). Le Mauricien. 23 July 2016. Retrieved 24 July 2016.
5. "BWF Statement on Mauritius Badminton Player Kate Jessica Foo Kune". Badminton World Federation. Retrieved 19 November 2019.
6. Korimdun, Naushad (28 December 2015). "Famille Foo Kune: quand le badminton unit et construit". Defi Media. Archived from the original on 10 October 2016. Retrieved 7 October 2016.
7. "Olympics 2016: Kate Foo Kune And Badminton, A Family Story". Visit Mauritius. 26 July 2016. Retrieved 1 November 2016.
8. "Mauritian shuttler Foo Kune owns her life to Badminton". Sports Campus. 16 August 2016. Retrieved 1 November 2016.
9. Hearn, Don (29 August 2013). "Kate Foo Kune – Beating the odds from 'the middle of nowhere'". Badzine. Retrieved 7 October 2016.
10. -, Badminton Confederation Africa. "Newsletter du Mois de Septembre 2013 Road to Rio". Africa Badminton. Badminton Confederation Africa. Archived from the original on 5 March 2017. Retrieved 22 March 2017.CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link)
11. "Without badminton I wouldn't exist, says Mauritian shuttler Foo Kune". Xinhua. Retrieved 7 October 2016.
12. "SA, Mauritius Crowned Champions: Africa Continental Team Championships finals". Badminton World Federation. Archived from the original on 18 October 2016. Retrieved 7 October 2016.
13. Phelan, Mark (26 June 2016). "Corvee inspires Issy to European glory". Badminton Europe. Retrieved 7 October 2016.
14. "The Flagbearers for the Rio 2016 Opening Ceremony". 16 August 2016. Retrieved 27 August 2016.
15. "Kate Foo Kune: Career overview". bwf.tournamentsoftware.com. Badminton World Federation. Retrieved 21 February 2020.

External links

• Africa Badminton

Olympic Games
Preceded by Natacha Rigobert	Flagbearer for  Mauritius 2016 Rio de Janeiro	Succeeded by Incumbent